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Gheralt

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  1. Howdy, folks. I've been reading some St. Augustine, some Dante, and some CS Lewis, because, well, that's what I study in school! With that in mind, let's get to the meat of the thread. The scene in the Leviathan always bothered me. I spanked Malak all over the place a few times without breaking a sweat, and Bastila 'martyrs' herself to save my posterior. I said, "Do what?" I've no idea whether BioWare anticipated the average player being able to whoop on Malak with little trouble, but it sure seemed odd that Bastila sacrificed herself for basically no reason. I coulda killed 'em mahself, yessuh! Then after reading some of the authors above, and remembering Bastila's chief vices, I got to thinking, and I came to a conclusion. Why did she do it? Pride! We hear from her that she always dreamed that she would be the one to take out Malak. That dream implies two things, especially once we know Revan is, well, Revan: 1) She doesn't imagine Revan will be doing it. 2) She imagines that she has the wherewithal to do it. Now, after getting paralyzed a few times and witnessing me (Revan!) beating Malak senseless, it might be that she thought, "Well, if /he/ can do it, surely /I/ can do it!" So, she 'sacrificed' herself. I use quotes because I don't much thing she meant to be a martyr. Rather, I think she suspected she had the stuff necessary to win that fight. As we all know, she didn't! Now, was she humbled? No, suh! When strapped to Malak's TortureTableOfDoom<tm>, she remains proud. "I'll never fall to the dark side!" (Tee-hee!) Why does she fall? Well, there's that stupid pride again. She wasn't able to beat Malak while following the Light, and she thought to herself, "I'm surely better than Revan! Why, I beat Revan! That's what I'm known for, right?" We see in the Starforge that she believed the dark side would give her the strength to defeat Revan. Why would she want to defeat Revan? Damn. There's that word again! Pride! It is only after Revan trounces her a few times and professes his genuine love for her that she is humbled and focuses her attention outside of herself. That is, it's not so much "What I'm able to do" and "What the council has trusted me to do, but sincere attention to someone else's feelings. Or perhaps I'm being overly optimistic. Even when being redeemed, she says, and I'm paraphrasing, "I can thank of nothing safer than to be loved by you." Note the use of passive voice. Not "You love me," but "I am loved by you." She's the subject, even there! Ah well. Our proud Jedi Princess has a long road ahead, methinks. Comments? Questions? --Gheralt
  2. I was Darth Nihilus. I snuffed out thousands of lives, and I drew enemies to me. I was Darth Sion. By end game, my Jedi Guardian/Weapon Master literally never ran out of force points. So, I was effectively impossible to kill. I was Darth Traya. Visas Mar and the Handmaiden both betrayed their masters because of me, and I apparently betrayed Atris. And I kicked some butt, too. :D --Gheralt
  3. Hey, folks. I haven't been on the boards much since the X-box version came out, but now that the PC version is out, I have my first impressions. Graphics: I am not so hardnosed as such reviewers as IGN on graphics. Age doesn't matter to me. Does it look good, or does it not look good? KotOR 2 looks good, with only one complaint. I don't care for the lip-teeth-jaw action, but that's a minor quibble. The game looks good, and unlike something like FF7, which now makes my eyes bleed, the game will /still/ look good seven years from now. Points awarded. Secondly, as of now, this game /refuses/ to remember my brightness settings, which is extremely irritating. Sound: Lightsabers whoosh. Blasters bwazap. The music is Star-Wars-y, but unique. I haven't had any problems with the voice acting so far, but is delightful that Davik's head and voice actor have taken up residence in a more legitimate line of work. :> Interface: I like the green, but I tend to like green. I prefer these character portraits to the portraits of KotOR. I'm not sure why, precisely, but I think they look better, as do the rounded off vitality and force point bars. Points to Obsidian for making the unwieldly inventory screen easier to sort and to peruse. Mechanics and Gameplay: This will be a more general rant/ramble/narrative. I finished Peragus Station in about four or five hours, and I prefer it to Taris. I would replay KotOR 1 a lot more if Taris didn't seem like swimming up river through jello. Peragus has a fine pace, and once you know what you're doing, I expect it takes about two hours to finish. I received my lightsaber at level 13, and at just over 11 hours. I didn't miss it, nor was I in any great hurry, really, but I was mildly worried that I would start my prestige class before I put it together. As far as the pace of things go, I'm level 17 with the better part of three planets left. I've no idea if this pace is typical, but at this rate, I expect to be mid to high 20's by end game. With regards to difficulty, I have several criticisms which I feel are reasonable and not inflammatory. 1) Characters heal automatically over time. I realize this is likely an alternative to Direct Transit, which could be spammed repeatedly to make KotOR a lot easier. In adding this feature, however, Obsidian created two effects: One, my experience (and everyone else's) was deprived of choice. I didn't have to abuse Direct Transit. I am, however, stuck with regenerating hit points. Similarly, this feature undermines the utility of the Heal powers and encourages me to go get a sip of water between fights, rather than concentrate on strategery(sic!). 2) Base Attack Bonus Progression: I don't consider simple mechanics to be spoilers, and I apologize if they are considered that here. Move me along if that is the case. At any rate, every Jedi Class gets Fighter base attack bonus. That is, +1 per level. Again, this change results in multiple, profound effects. The guardian is cheapened, while the sentinel and consular receive a great boon. I believe there are numerous threads detailing this effect more thoroughly than I have. 3) Difficulty -- Both of these mechanical issues make the game very easy. I find the War Veteran feat reasonable, since Revan got his free +50 power points, but my opinion of this feat may deteriorate as I unlock more abilities. I would have appreciated a toggle of some sort on the health regeneration, or possibly making that a feature of Easy, and increasing the feats related to it to Epic Levels. Essentially, I would have liked choice in the matter. The Base Attack Bonus change baffles me. I don't understand the necessity for it, and I wish I had the wherewithal to go into the ini files and change it myself. 4) Random Phat L3wt: This doesn't bother me. It prevents cherry picking the game, which was very easy to do in KotOR, and thus adds to replayability. As far as the characters go, I like them and their stories so far. Influence is an interesting system, but I can't say more until I've finished. Peace. --Gheralt
  4. I resemble that remark! *ahem* I assure you, not all of us are like that. Just some of the louder ones. A quiet majority is donating millions to tsunami aid as we speak so that they can write it off on their taxes this year. ....Why are you glaring at me?
  5. So, we have the Exile, and we have Revan. I know it would be very difficult to program, but something along the lines of Legacy of Kain: Defiance would be oodles of fun. Have the game switch back and forth as you sweep through the Sith Empire like a mist of bad air freshener. This could get really fun if Revan is LS and the Exile is DS. I just wonder which one would get T3-M4, HK-47, and Mandalore. --Gheralt
  6. That's quite possibly not a bug at all. At least, in d20 rules, on which KotOR's rules are loosely based, like bonuses do not stack. For example, if I have a girdle of giant strength +6 and gauntlets of ogre power +4, I do not get +10 to strength; rather, I get +6. Armor class, at least in d20, gets trickier. Dodge bonuses do stack, and so having, for example, a +6 bonus to dexterity and the Dodge feat gives you +7 to your armor class. Of course, it could be that like bonuses stack all over in KotOR 2 except in this instance, so mebbe it is a bug. ;P --Gheralt
  7. *gigglesnorts* I would so play an FPS starring HK-47.
  8. He totally reminds me of the gimpy villains from the Scream movies.
  9. A "prestige class" is a term from the d20 rules system. You have core classes, like Soldier, Scout, Tech Specialist, Jedi Guardian, Jedi Consular, &c. Prestige classes in Pen and Paper d20 have prerequisites, usually in the form of a base attack bonus, base save, feat, skill, or special requirement. The PrC (Prestige class!) usually offers greater specialization in a certain area of expertise at the cost of being less effective in other areas. They're usually 5 or 10 levels, though some are more or less in number. For example, in Dungeons and Dragons, you have a PrC called Archmage. (This is SRD stuff, so no problems quoting it here.) It requires a certain number of feats, skills, and spells in your spellbook. The PrC allows you to trade spell level slots for additional powers. These range from dealing more damage, to substituting elemental damage (you could have a fireball deal cold damage instead, for example) to making an area effect spell only affect your enemies. The archmage loses those spell slots permanently, however, and the class is expensive in terms of feats. I hope that explanation helps. --Gheralt
  10. I wouldn't call KotOR a sweeping epic. It was enjoyable. Very enjoyable. It did, however, follow a very set in stone pattern with elements that Bioware has used before in other games. Even Neverwinter Nights wasn't original in the "go to four places, then gear up for the next part" motif. Legend of Zelda games just about always do that system. I will summarize A Link to the Past: Find three pendants. Get sword. Fight evil boss. Move to next world. Find 8 (or was it 9? Been a while) crystals. Fight final boss. Done. So, that's a tested (repeatedly, repeatedly) formula for gaming. Now, in both Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment, you were a Somebody who didn't know he was a Somebody when the game began. Sound familar? It should! I wouldn't call something "epic" because it involves going to multiple worlds and the fate of the universe is at stake. But then, I'm majoring in Latin and History, and, having read enough Homer, Vergil, Beowulf, and Milton to make one ill, I know that "fancy, variable scenery and impending DOOM" aren't what make epic poetry epic. I won't bore you with the specifics. But I've read epic, and KotOR isn't it. Still, it's a very enjoyable game with an enjoyable (if predictable) story, and that's what counts. Yes, I said some point on Dantooine, "Hrm. I'm Revan." ;P --Gheralt
  11. Meh. IGN's notorious for being stingy with graphics scores. They base them on age, and not how good they actually look. For example, the sprites from Final Fantasy 6 still look better than bad polygons, but IGN will happily give bad polygons a higher score in graphics.
  12. Please bear in mind that I'm using RealStarWarsd20<tm> here, but... Tech specialists have slightly weaker reflex and will saves, less skillpoints per level, 1d6 HD instead of 1d8, and the ability to craft items. Yes, they have less skillpoints, but they're also more likely to have a higher intelligence score than a scout. Also, their class skills are much different. I've not a blessed clue how Obsidian has chosen to interpret the differences, but I hope that helps. --Gheralt
  13. *does some quick math* Well, that Guardian took Toughness twice. Wahoo. Level 24. 337 HP. 14 Con (+2 bonus). 24*10=240. 337-240=97 24*2=48. 97-48=49. So...Toughness Twice. And one to grow on. Weird.
  14. Good Lord. Substitute Atton Rand and the Exile where appropriate: Scene -- Castle Anthrax LAUNCELOT: Sir Galahad! GALAHAD: Oh, hello. LAUNCELOT: Quick! GALAHAD: What? LAUNCELOT: Quick! GALAHAD: Why? LAUNCELOT: You are in great peril! DINGO: No, he isn't. LAUNCELOT: Silence, foul temptress! GALAHAD: You know, she's got a point. LAUNCELOT: Come on! We will cover your escape! GALAHAD: Look, I'm fine! LAUNCELOT: Come on! GIRLS: Sir Galahad! GALAHAD: No. Look, I can tackle this lot single-handed! DINGO: Yes! Let him tackle us single-handed! GIRLS: Yes! Let him tackle us single-handed! LAUNCELOT: No, Sir Galahad. Come on! GALAHAD: No! Really! Honestly, I can cope. I can handle this lot easily. DINGO: Oh, yes. Let him handle us easily. GIRLS: Yes. Let him handle us easily. LAUNCELOT: No. Quick! Quick! GALAHAD: Please! I can defeat them! There's only a hundred-and-fifty of them! DINGO: Yes! Yes, he will beat us easily! We haven't a chance. GIRLS: We haven't a chance. He will beat us easily... [boom] LAUNCELOT: We were in the nick of time. You were in great peril. GALAHAD: I don't think I was. LAUNCELOT: Yes, you were. You were in terrible peril. GALAHAD: Look, let me go back in there and face the peril. LAUNCELOT: No, it's too perilous. GALAHAD: Look, it's my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can. LAUNCELOT: No, we've got to find the Holy Grail. Come on! GALAHAD: Oh, let me have just a little bit of peril? LAUNCELOT: No. It's unhealthy. GALAHAD: I bet you're gay. LAUNCELOT: No, I'm not. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. [/tangent]
  15. This lack of limbs, eyes, and body parts thing begins to get silly. At one point we'll inevitably see a Sith Lord missing all four limbs, with a lightsaber clenched in his teeth, growl, "Oh, I see! Runnin' away, aye? You yellow b*****ds! Come back 'ere and take what's coming to you! I'll bite your legs off!"
  16. *beats Zabrak Maul in the head with Georgia's latest, horribly ugly flag* Thou hast offended me with thy lack of honor, boy! *ahems* Don't be saying you're from the South if you can't behave like the model General, who said, "The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman. The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly--the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others." Get back on the horse and try again. With respect to poor Atton Rand, we must remind ourselves of the sanctus tempus when Han Solo shot first; indeed, he was the only one who shot! Perhaps he'll be like that Han Solo, the one whom we miss ever so dearly. *wipes a lone tear from his eye* --Gheralt PS--Yes, I quoted Robert E. Lee and complemented Han for shooting Greedo first in the same post. Doesn't hearing "Oota Boota, Solo" just make your trigger finger twitch?
  17. Good analysis on your part. But I think the developers have us on this one. I won't be an easy guess. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I expect they're grinning like the cat who caught the canary at our crazed guesses.
  18. You know. That could...Not be Malak, and just be a bald Jedi. :ph34r:
  19. They really need to pick a different font. The first line looks like "Your eyes f*** open."
  20. You know you want it and it's not 32 bit or ateast i don't think it is <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm not a fan of the X-box controller. Give me my WASD and my mouse any day.
  21. I'll feel irritable until I have the game running at 1600x1200 and 32 bit graphics. Well worth the wait.
  22. Bleh. I have mixed feelings about romances. It's often shameless pandering to the player who wants to get into the busty female Jedi's trousers. Having said that, the romances in KotOR were tastefully done, imho.
  23. A level 1 jedi which often has the power of a 3rd level non-Jedi. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Say what? A level 3 soldier beats the pants off of a level 1 Jedi guardian. Let's break it down! A level 3 human soldier will have: +3 Base Attack Bonus +3 fort/+1 reflex/+1 will base saves. (That is, before ability modifiers) 30/30 hit points before Constitution modifiers. Multiple feats. Better equipment. Armor, most likely. Now, I'm merely using KotOR's d20-Lite rules set. If I busted out the pen and paper stuff, you'd really see how a level 3 soldier would spank a level 1 guardian all over the place.
  24. Eh? Well, Hades, you're a role player. Role play and find out the rest of the party's story! Ye need not be disillusioned by mere lightsabers! Example: Haer'Dalis. Not very good at...Anything. But a very interesting character, and he was always in my party. 'Tis a role I am glad to play.
  25. *squints at the Character Generation screen* 11 Vitality, +3 Fortitude, +3 Reflex, +2 Will. We're starting at level 1, folks!
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